At Momentum Medical, we often receive questions about chiropractic care from new patients, and we’ve noticed that many people who have never seen a chiropractor before are wondering the same things. So, we’ve put together this helpful list of some of the most common questions we hear around the office. Here are our chiropractic FAQs and their answers:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is chiropractic?
Chiropractic is a type of health care that uses natural techniques to enhance your body’s ability to heal itself. Chiropractic treatments often involve spinal manipulation, but may involve other forms of treatment such as exercise, chiropractic massage, or nutritional counseling.
What do chiropractors treat?
Chiropractors can treat a multitude of health concerns for patients of nearly all ages. Since spinal manipulations or adjustments are among the most commonly used forms of chiropractic treatments, chiropractors are particularly well known for their ability to help patients with lower back pain, mid back pain, neck pain, and even headaches. This is true whether the pain is the result of certain lifestyle habits, such as poor posture at work, or if you’ve been injured in an accident.
Chiropractors can also treat a vast array of injuries, conditions, and diseases of the musculoskeletal system, such as a herniated disk, sports injury, or sciatica. Sometimes these often excruciating ailments also affect your nervous system, which can cause additional pain and dysfunction for other areas of your body. Fortunately, a skilled chiropractor will be able to treat your pain at the source, so you will feel relief throughout your body for injuries like these.
What are the benefits of chiropractic?
In addition to treating pain, there are numerous benefits of routine chiropractic care for more general health issues. This is because your body’s structure and posture affect its overall functions.
Studies have shown that regular chiropractic adjustments can improve patients’ well-being and can specifically reduce muscle pain, low back pain, shoulder pain, headaches, and sciatica pain. In addition, chiropractors are known to counsel patients on their diet, nutrition, exercise, and provide other chiropractic tips that can even include occupational and lifestyle changes.
Is chiropractic safe?
Yes. One of the most common myths about chiropractic care is that it is dangerous. In fact, chiropractic is widely regarded as one of the safest ways to treat musculoskeletal injuries because it uses natural, non-invasive therapies and never relies on drugs.
While chiropractic has an impeccable record for safety, no health care treatment is 100% free of possible negative effects. However, the risks associated with chiropractic treatments are minuscule compared to other options, such as surgery. Many patients feel fast-acting relief following chiropractic adjustments, but some may feel mild soreness or stiffness, just as you might after certain types of exercise. Current research has shown that mild discomfort or soreness following spinal manipulation is likely to dissipate within a day.
Is chiropractic safe for children?
Yes. It is understood that children can also stand to gain from chiropractic manipulation. Children are quite active physically and encounter many forms of falls and blows from daily living activities. Injuries like these can potentially cause adverse symptoms, including:
- Neck Pain
- Back Pain
- Stiffness
- Soreness
- Discomfort
In addition, children are not always the best at sitting up straight as often as they should and may benefit from seeing a chiropractor to help improve their posture and reduce their risk of developing scoliosis. Chiropractic care is a highly skilled form of treatment that is always custom-tailored to each individual patient and, when dealing with children, performed with extreme care.
What type of education do chiropractors have?
Chiropractors are required to earn a Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree, which is a postgraduate professional degree that typically takes four years to finish. Additionally, in most states, chiropractors are required to acquire and maintain a license to practice chiropractic.
Admission to D.C. programs typically require at least 90 semester hours of undergraduate education, and certain D.C. programs require a Bachelor’s Degree just to be eligible to enroll. Most students of chiropractic will usually earn a Bachelor’s Degree before applying to a D.C. program. Different schools may have different requirements for their chiropractic programs, but they often demand coursework in both liberal arts and sciences, such as physics, chemistry, and biology.
What happens during a chiropractic exam?
A chiropractic exam is your initial consultation with your chiropractor. They will ask you questions about your pain—including your symptoms, when they started, and how often you feel pain—to determine the best treatment plan for you.
A chiropractic adjustment is typically performed by a chiropractor using their hands to manipulate the joints of the body, especially the spine, in order to restore or improve joint function. In some cases, such as with as with spinal decompression therapy, a chiropractor may incorporate the use of specialized chiropractic equipment to treat a patient. Manual chiropractic adjustments typically aid in clearing up joint inflammation and reducing the patient’s discomfort through a highly controlled procedure that rarely produces pain. Patients often notice positive changes in their symptoms shortly after beginning their chiropractic treatment.
How long does chiropractic treatment last?
The length of your chiropractic treatment will depend on your specific injuries or medical conditions. That being said, patients of chiropractic often experience noticeable pain relief after their first session.
Due to its hands-on nature, chiropractic manipulation requires patients to see their chiropractor multiple times at their chiropractic office. This differs from treatment by medical doctors, which often involves a pre-established plan that is carried out at home, such as taking medications and avoiding certain activities. Whether your chiropractor is providing acute, chronic, or preventive care, a certain number of visits will be required to complete your chiropractic treatment. During your initial visit, your chiropractor should specify the extent of treatment they recommend and how long it will last.
Why is there a popping sound when a joint is adjusted?
Chiropractic adjustment of a joint can result in the release of a gas bubble between your joints, which generates a popping sound due to the change of pressure within the joint. This is the same phenomenon that happens when you “crack” your knuckles. There is usually minimal, if any, pain involved.
What services does Momentum Medical Offer?
At Momentum Medical, our skilled doctors offer chiropractic injury services for anyone suffering from lower back pain, mid back pain, neck pain, and headaches stemming from a multitude of issues, such as car accidents, slip and falls, sports injuries, workers’ compensation injuries, and more.
How should I treat my back pain after a car accident?
If you’re suffering from neck and/or back pain after a car accident, your pain is most likely the result of an injury involving your spinal discs. These injuries will need to be treated by a back pain doctor, commonly known as a chiropractor. Through chiropractic treatments, your overall recovery will occur in a faster and safer way than alternative forms of treatment—such as surgery or opiates—because chiropractors work to heal the source of your pain.
Can your offices accommodate non-English speakers?
Yes. Our staff can accommodate patients who speak Spanish, French, and Russian. With enough notice, we can schedule a translator for patients who speak other languages.
Todas nuestras localizaciones tienen hablantes de español en el personal.
How do I make an appointment to see a chiropractor?
If you’re in need of accident injury doctor, back pain doctor, or other form of chiropractic care in the Central Florida area, you can schedule an appointment at any of our conveniently located offices. To schedule an appointment at our closest auto injury clinic to your home, visit our Central Florida injury locations and call your local office.
